June 01, 2015

sasadmin

Doing it differently!  What does this mean? In reality we are looking for different ways to deliver the message, bringing people into the SMS way of thinking! Making people more “Risk Aware”.

 

Supporting an organisational approach which provides for the maximum safety effort we can provide, and yes from the top down.

 

We can take a point of view that it is our goal and objective to engage in cultural change which encourages even obliges employees to focus on the need to keep safety in mind at all times and especially when they engage in any activity which exposes any person or the organisation to risk.

 

So what works in getting the message across?

 

Step 1 we need a program, something to hang our hat on! And something we can stand behind.

Step 2 is to have all our Business Area Owners and Nominated Persons to totally embrace the SMS program – this has to be real, half way measure will not do it.

How is this measured? Quite simply by seeing business area owners becoming ambassadors for the effective delivery of the SMS in fact it could even be described as the single most crucial element.

Once employees realize that the manager is serious and he shows this in his behaviour and his encouragement and acceptance of your safety behaviour it has started – and this is marketing in real rather than the poster variety (posters which may be considered as a form of eye candy seldom deliver a message which hits home and results in behavioral changes).

When people whom you connect with speak positively regarding safety then without doubt real value is created for the development of the SMS within the organisation.

It is generally accepted that employee training which is highly organisation specific together with safety workshop activity is highly beneficial in delivering the SMS message and creating an environment which supports positive cultural change.

Step 3 Introduce a “Targeting Safety” program

Means the simplest possible reporting process which we can add to our exiting program to reduce Safety reporting that requires the absolute minimum effort from the reporter.

Consider a simple form A5 with the pre formatted questions:

  1. What is the Problem?
  2. Why is it a Problem?
  3. What do you Suggest?

Directly connecting with all staff including those at the front line, with the ability to easily feed information into the SMS serves as a significant driver to improve safety awareness

The effectiveness of the SMS is directly dependent on the willingness of all staff to engage with the process and to identify hazards which have a higher level of risk (for whatever reason).

“Engaging our staff on the front line with the ability to raise safety awareness through these cards, which are sent directly to our CEO, has greatly improved our safety culture. Not only by identifying a safety hazard, but also by engaging and complimenting other staff members when they do a task safely.”

 

For details of additional training and support please see www.sassofia.com or email office@sassofia.com

 

 

 

Tags:

Risk Aware, Safety Management System, SMS